Households across the UK are being encouraged to stock up on essentials including bottled water and three days of food by the government.
New advice issued by the Cabinet Office on Thursday has recommended that households prepare for national emergencies and crises, it says sparked by the unprecedented heatwaves which baked the country this summer. It says that severe weather can affect services including power, water and internet.
This week, the Cabinet Office said that households are being encouraged to ‘take a few simple steps’ to stay prepared if everyday services are temporarily disrupted, under updated advice.
The advice is the first stage of a three-year campaign to help households across the UK feel better prepared for events such as severe weather, which can occasionally affect services including power, water, phones and the internet.
The Cabinet Office said: “With storms last winter and the wildfires this summer showing how severe weather events can cause disruption to our everyday lives and impact the services we rely on, from phone signal to water and the internet, launching the campaign brings the UK into line with European peers who all run similar campaigns already.”
The government’s UK Be Ready website linked to the information has a list of advice for all households in the UK to follow, and aims to get everyone to make sure they have some safety net in case of unforeseen national emergencies, just in case.
The site says: “Being ready for 3 days helps you manage while support reaches those most in need.
“Doing this is easier than you might think. You could have some of the items at home already.
“You don’t need to do it all at once. Build up your readiness gradually over time by taking it step by step, and picking up an extra item or two when you can.”
It says that the amount of water you’ll need is different for different people and circumstances, and also changes depending on if you want to focus purely on drinking water or would also like some leeway for washing and cooking.
It says: “Bottled water – 3 litres per person per day for drinking. More would be needed for other tasks such as cooking and washing.
The website also urges people to stock up on food which won’t go off quickly.
It says: “Food with a long shelf life that doesn’t need refrigeration or cooking e.g. tinned meat, fish or vegetables, dried fruit and nuts. It’s best to buy food you’d usually eat.”
For those with babies it adds: “Ready-made or ‘ready-to-feed’ formula is best, as you may not be able to boil water to make up powdered formula safely.”
